As some of you may know I support Avaaz and from time to time I have shared a particular petition with you, Its good to know that when we click those petitions we get results…. Below I received an email which I want to share showing how our clicks have helped in various campaigns… and to all those who I know support Avaaz The World in Action,

A BigThank you too…

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“Dear amazing community, I often get asked by Avaazers, “what happens after I sign a petition?” And the truth is, a HECK of a lot! Every Avaaz campaign springs from a massive global mandate, and then zeroes in on the best way for our voices to win. Here’s just two of our victories from the last few weeks:Remember when 2 million of us came together to stop the flogging of a 15-year old rape victim in the Maldives? Her sentence has been quashed! Here’s what our team did to win:

Our ads threatened the profits of officials who owned parts of the tourism industry

Spoke for hours with the Maldivian Attorney-General and Ministers and emailed the President at his personal account.

Commissioned opinion polls showing massive support for reforms to protect girls. And wrote an Op-Ed in a major national paper.

Persuaded a top Islamic scholar to speak out against flogging.

Threatened to run an ad (right) in tourism publications, affecting the country’s major industry.

Visited the Maldives and the location where the girl was held, pressing officials directly.

Ahmed Shaheed, former Foreign Minister of the Maldives said “The Avaaz contribution was the spearhead of the campaign to overturn the flogging sentence; a petition signed by millions, a country visit, a public opinion survey, and persistent follow-up all proved irresistible.”

Another example: Remember how almost 2 million of us rallied to stop the Maasai tribe in Tanzania from being kicked off their land for a hunting reserve? Last week, the Prime Minister announced they could stay! The petition provided a powerful basis for what the team did next:

Maasai women gather to protest the eviction. Photo by Jason Patinkin

Got CNN and the Guardian to visit the Maasai and break the wider story to the world.

Advised Maasai elders on their campaigning strategy.

Flooded Ministers and the President with messages — forcing a debate in cabinet and Parliament.

Ran a hard hitting newspaper ad in an influential paper which publicly shamed the government.

The victory belongs to the Maasai people, but our community helped them win by making this a global issue the government could no longer ignore. This hopefully ends a 20 year land battle!! Of course, our community does a LOT more than petitions. Last week, we raised a $1 million challenge grant in a few days to donor governments to put Syrian refugee kids in school. At a UN meeting, I was able to put a cheque on the table and issue the challenge on behalf of over 40,000 Avaaz donors. UN Education Envoy Gordon Brown, who chaired the meeting, called our community’s effort a "magnificent and impactful intervention" in getting other governments to give! And often it’s not the Avaaz team but our community that does the direct lobbying. For example in Brazil, we’re inches away from winning a massive fight to end the shady practice of ‘secret voting’ in the Congress. Our huge push helped win the vote in the lower house and right now, Senators’ telephones are ringing off the hook as Avaaz members across Brazil use our online calling tool to directly tell them to stop this corruption — experts say a win is likely in days! It’s this unique magic mix between a gigantic and spirited community of citizens able to speak out, donate, and lobby, and a small team of top notch advocates able to take smart, strategic actions at the highest level with democratic legitimacy, that makes our campaigns increasingly unstoppable. If we keep believing in each other, and growing in size and in commitment, there’s no limit to the good we can do in the world. Thank you so much for the honour and the joy to be part of and serve this community. It’s something truly precious we have here — let’s keep building Avaaz.With love and appreciation, Ricken and the team

PS — You might not know that Avaaz is different from just about every other global organization in that we are 100% funded and guided by our community. Every campaign we run is first polled and tested to a random sample (you might think of it as a jury) of our community, that tells us exactly how the whole the community will react. I may be the CEO, but you’re my boss. If you don’t like something (and I don’t mean 51% like it, but 81% like it) then our team go back to the drawing board and come up with a better option for you. We have never, ever, broken this rule. So at the end of the day, it is your wisdom, the collective wisdom of our community, matched with the smartest suggestions the team hears from you and come up with ourselves and from our partners and experts, that determines what we do every single day. When you add to that the fact that 100% of our funding comes from small online donations (we strictly refuse any donations from corporations, governments, foundations, and even individual donations over 5000 Euros), I think Avaaz may be one of the purest organisational expressions of people-powered change in the world today. Make that an organisation served by a beautiful team of wonderfully talented and deeply committed people that I wish I could introduce you all to, and we’ve got a kind of magic that can build the world we dream of.”

Hi Shree, yes its good to get feedback from these petitions, Avaaz I have supported for a number of years since a friend sent a petition about cruelty to animals one… They support all kinds of injustices..
Nice to have you visit 🙂

Thanks Sue, I am very careful about what I support. There are so many things we can get involved in, on media reports or other peoples opinions. Sometimes we are being misinformed and may be we create more problems by making waves.
I am so busy just trying to personally set a good example and by helping out with things close to home. I must save my self and help with what I see in my personal experience.
This is my honest believe to save the world we must start with ourself. Perhaps I am not doing all I could but what I do I do with certainty
I know you are a sincere person and are doing your very best. I admire you for that.
May the force be with you Sue Dreamwalker.

Yes me too Jack, I support the Red Cross and Save the Children charities, and I am always conscious of how many organisations waste precious resources on advertising and how those at the top rake off to live luxury life styles,.. I agree the Media help create bigger waves … I try like you, we can only change our own ways of being, in the hope we send out the ripple effect.. Many thanks Jack for your encouragement 🙂

Hi Sue…I have not heard of this group before but I am aware of these issues SO it does sound like they are very effective. It is encouraging to learn that organizations we can support, can make a difference in different parts of the world. I too will check them out!! Thanks for sharing. Kim

Hi Kim, you know you may not believe this but I am on your blog right now and cannot believe its over a month since I visited…
Glad you dropped by and yes DO check them out they are doing lots of good Kim…
Hugs Sue xx

Hi Sue, that is funny….It is 7:55 am here in Hamilton, Ontario….what time is it there? That has happened to me and Alarna, who lives in Australia, as well; where we are both on each other’s sites at the same time on other sides of the world. I love the synchroniciity!! Kim

In general I agree Alex as in today’s world so many petitions are out there for this or that, but Avaaz have been very effective in helping various projects and people around the world which have benefited from our clicks of support 🙂

There was one silly petition that hit my e-mail box created by a Labour spin doctor about the recent antics of the Daily Mail against the family of a Labour leader, such things I refuse to get involved with.

I’m hoping this comment will make it as wordpress keeps telling me it can’t post my comment ! But, I just wanted to say, thank you for posting about Avaaz. They sound very effective and I am off to find more about them

Hi Chery, 🙂 Nice to see you again, and I hope you Sign some of their petitions they have made big differences to many lives and projects such as helping raise awareness to how Brazil was planning to flood thousands of acres of Land which belongs to the Indigenous Indians of Brazil, who hunt and live in the Rainforests. The petition brought bad press on the President who because of the Olympics had to listen to views on the Dam project in Xingu River. You can read further about that here on a post I did in 2011 https://suedreamwalker.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/brazil-judge-blocks-amazon-belo-monte-dam/

Isn’t it nice to know our actions can make a difference? I posted a while back about a little girl who was growing some vegetables outside her subsidized apartment. Because of he backlash the officials reconsidered the ban and were considering letting her have her container garden.

Oh I remember that post Lois, how lovely that she got to keep her little plot that she had worked so hard to cultivate for hre mum… Mom …. There is far too much Red=tape these days and happy that pressure from those objecting had an affect xox

Great post I signed a petition of the anti woman gag rule which goes to my heart
It is absolutely fantastic to read what they did and what effect it had It is world changing and it restores my belief in the world as that lately suffers a bit, as people put obstruction in the way when you commit to things.
I am so happy to see that hard work and that people together are strong positive force in changing the world for the good.

Hi Noeleen, Yes they Do help so many people and projects, and Its good to know you and so many others support Avaaz, 🙂 I have not been on line for a few days, as I had some ME time, Good to see you 🙂 xxx Hugs Sue xx

Sorry Sue but I have never heard of this organisation, but after reading your blog it appears it is a very powerful organisation, the success in the two cases you quoted it fantastic, the petition by that many people is phenomenal and poweful.
A great organisation that I need to know more about.
Regards
Ian

Ian, this organisation is doing remarkable things in bringing awareness and helping many around the globe… I just did another Friday Facts…. and they are trying to help the crew of Greenpeace facing 15 yrs in jail in Russia for peacefully protesting about Oil drilling in the Arctic..

Well I cannot take the credit for the post, as I only literally cut and pasted from my email 🙂 Ruth.. But this organisation do really get stuck into problems and projects and help Free people from Jail etc in the past.. So I hope all goes well for Greenpeace..
Thank you again and love that you found the time and energy to visit and comment.. 🙂 I know how much at times just concentrating can be so tiring
Love Sue

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